Jogging Stroller / Pushchair for parkrun

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Akkers Jan 2016 10:00pm, 29 Jan 2016 22 posts	0 Akkers Firstly, apologies if a thread like this already exists. I typed in some of the keywords but couldn't find a post but it might just be me. Anyway ... My little boy has just turned six months old and I really want to start taking him to parkrun. I think it will give my darling wife a well deserved lie in on a Saturday and also give us a bit of that all important father-son bonding time. However I've never run with a buggy so have no feel for how hard it will be. It's not like I've gone up to a total stranger before and said can I borrow your buggy and kid to see how I feel about pushing a buggy round. Let's say I'm a 27 min parkrunner I don't know whether my time will become 35 mins, 40 mins or slower. Though its parkrun and I know it's not a race I'm just trying to understand how hard it will be. Anyway enough rambling ... It's my birthday soon and Darljng Wife wants to get me a present and I thought maybe a running buggy. Problem is I don't know the first thing about them. All I know is our current day-to-day buggy is definitely not suitable. We have recently moved to Epsom Downs so most of the parkruns that I have tried around here have a large element of running on grass / off-roading. My nearest ones are Banstead Woods, Nonsuch, Reigate Priory. Any advice from any experienced stroller-users would be appreciated.
DeeGee Jan 2016 10:12pm, 29 Jan 2016 16,943 posts	0 DeeGee I've done some research, as I'm going to invest in one for our daughter in a few months (she isn't with us, yet). I'm going for
DeeGee Jan 2016 10:13pm, 29 Jan 2016 16,944 posts	0 DeeGee ... this one amazon.co.uk (Not sure what happened there!)
Battlecat Jan 2016 10:23pm, 29 Jan 2016 4,801 posts	0 Battlecat My little girl is almost 6 months (and many people call me Akkers as well!) Anyway - I've got a BOB. I've not run with her yet but I've pushed it round quite a bit of off road terrain and it's good through mud and bumpy ground. Very smooth and easy to manoeuvre. A guy I know who is a regular parkrunner with his daughter runs around 18 minutes on his own and 20 minutes with her, and she's about 2. That's a flat course on tarmac though. I expect anything with a hill is what will get you.
stuart little Jan 2016 11:01pm, 29 Jan 2016 1,028 posts	0 stuart little We've got a Bob revolution and its cracking. Front wheel can be locked for running, rolls well and is east to run with and to live with as an only pram.
Pedro_Perez Jan 2016 11:47pm, 29 Jan 2016 1,887 posts	0 Pedro_Perez I have done LOADS of parkrun buggy running, we have 3 buggies we can run with. The BOB ones are FAB, a little expensive but FAB, baby joggers are my preferred model though and if all you want it for is running then a Baby Jogger or similar would be perfect. This is one of ours, its the oldest one of the 3 and is fab, i We have two other ones, another newer Baby Jogger and a Jane Slalom, the Jane one is more like the Bobs, it runs really well but it feels a little less stable around corners then something longer with bigger wheels. The baby joggers, to be honest are only really good for running, they are too big for a shop door/general use BUT if it snows they are your best friend. I think my buggy parkrun PB was about 21 minutes, they are built for speed, BIG wheels, high clearance and long frames, shaped like a little dart. Comfy for the kids still. Other things to thing about, your little one needs to be able to hold there head still before you go out running in one, also at that age I would run with the rain cover on all the time, they dont respond too quickly to the mud/stones that can flick from the front wheel or other runners. (not so much of an issue with Bobs/traditional looking strollers due to the kids being sat higher and the wheels being smaller. The wind cover will also keep them warm. If you find a second hand one, make sure it does pull they can be a pain if you are CONSTANTLY having to adjust, if it does pull its normally something simple like a tyre or alignment problem. Anyway, good luck....ITS FUN! Let me know if you need any more info.
Pedro_Perez Jan 2016 11:53pm, 29 Jan 2016 1,888 posts	0 Pedro_Perez Oh and for me....when I was running a 19 minute parkrun I would lose about 2 minutes with a buggy which matches perfect what battlecat said. You will feel the BURN on your arms too if you do a hilly course and have to push, mostly you free wheel grabbing the handle every 5 or so steps to push and correct but on a hill......its ARMS UP all the way. GREAT fun on the downs, you need a tether for that, its just a small strap to keep you attached to the buggy.
Akkers Jan 2016 6:53pm, 31 Jan 2016 23 posts	0 Akkers Guys, Thanks for all your advice. This is amazingly useful. Despite me saying my current pushchair is no good, I was at my "old" parkrun this weekend which is perfectly flat and all on tarmac so I gave it a go. While it was more of whole body workout it was amazing how much fun it was. And actually the amount of encouragement I seemed to get from fellow runners, supporters, volunteers and marshals was absolutely amazing and I really want to do this. So I know my current push chair is no good for offroading so will now take all of your advice on board and start searching for what deals there are out there. Many thanks again!
♪♫ Synge ♪♫ Sep 2021 9:58am, 14 Sep 2021 42,574 posts	0 ♪♫ Synge ♪♫ With thread tagging being introduced, I can see there are lots of threads about running buggies, so I have picked one at random for this question! Elder daughter is planning a post-baby assault on parkrun next year and has asked whether we might get her a running buggy for Christmas. Looking at the prices, it may well be a secondhand one and it may well be Christmas and birthday presents combined for the whole family - they do seem to be expensive! I can see the BOB is recommended above and DeeGee may have ordered an Out 'n' About Nipper (?), so I would really appreciate any updates on these and any others that I should consider now that the market has moved on five years. All recommendations (and ones to avoid) welcome. I'm guessing it will probably get serious use once grandson is around six months old.